KING’S PAINT & HARDWARE SPREADING ITS WINGS

Thinking outside the box. That’s what King’s Paint & Hardware is doing to establish itself in a very stringent South African hardware market.

The King’s Paint and Hardware group was started in February 2002. Its two founding directors, Gary Hinde and Mathew Hinde, felt bogged down by franchising. They wanted to enjoy the benefits of being in a group without the limitations of being part of a franchise. Their aim was to be competitive in the paint retail industry providing quality of service and customer satisfaction.

The King’s Paint & Hardware group was started with the opening of its first store in Edenvale. Today it is a growing Franchise. Mathew Hinde has fifteen years experience in the paint business while Gary Hinde has five. The two directors felt the need for a supportive and mutually beneficial group and wanted to start an organisation closer along the lines of a family group than a franchise. As a group, members enjoy the benefits of bulk buying power and a brand identity with bigger discounts. They do not pay a franchise fee but a minimal membership fee and a contribution to advertising.

The concept of this group is to help smaller established retailers to not merely survive but grow and be competitive. Money from the group is pumped back into branding and advertising with advertisements being broadcast on two well-known regional radio stations. The belief is that the bigger the exposure to the brand, the bigger the benefits for all of its members.

The growth of King’s Paint & Hardware has been steady, with eleven branches now open in Gauteng. Andrews and Hinde are not limiting the growth of the chain to this province alone but are planning the opening of more stores in the rest of the country in the near future. The average store size is 350m² with the combined total of employees numbering over seventy.

The store in Woodmead has a lounge area and coffee bar for customers. In-store is a computer on which customers, mostly homeowners, can view paint colours and different house styles before they make their final choice of paint. The two directors believe service is the key to retaining loyal customers. “We want the situation to be that if people need help with paint, they phone Kings,” says Andrews.

“The vision of the group is to have a store in every town,” Hinde explains. This includes expanding the critical mass of King’s and growing from Gauteng to outlying regions within the next three to five years.

The motto of King’s is “The customer is Royalty” and the retailers aim to provide service with a professional attitude. “We want to be different and give quality customer satisfaction. We want to be professional and look professional,” Hinde says. For more information contact 08600 KINGS.